Chapter 53

Chapter 9: A Thriving Business

Additionally: Although the four update tickets from the book friend Zhong Si Zhi Si are very tempting, the quantity is too high for me, so I can only reluctantly give them up. I would like to express my gratitude here.

After finalizing the Zhao family's shareholding, the Fang family restaurant could begin its expansion into Pingchuan County. As fate would have it, two days later, the heads of several departments from the Pingchuan County government came to the Qinxi Pressing Equipment Factory for business, and Zhao Jianguo happened to be among the accompanying personnel. Thus, they smoothly arranged their lunch at the Fang family restaurant. Originally, these few people thought that a small place like Hai Zhuang Town could not have any good restaurants. However, upon entering and seeing the room decorations, they were already somewhat impressed. When the fish head with pancake was served, they praised it endlessly. As a result, before the lunch was even over, the dinner location and dishes were already decided.

After dinner, when Zhao Jianguo came to deliver the money, he mentioned this matter.

"Oh, Brother Fang, you weren't there, so you didn't see those people. They ate as if they hadn't had a meal in two days. In no time, a plate of fish head with pancake was gone. In the end, they ate three plates of fish head with pancake, and there was still a lot of other dishes left. Even so, their bellies were full, and these few people still wanted to order fish head with pancake for dinner!" Recalling the scene, Zhao Jianguo laughed uncontrollably on the sofa.

"This is a good thing! If we can hook their appetite, they will promote us for free in Pingchuan County in the future." Grandpa Fang was also delighted.

"Hehe, no need to wait for the future. Today, in the factory, they have already promoted our restaurant for free." Zhao Jianguo couldn't help but laugh again. "These few people ate well and were full at noon, and with the thought of having good food for dinner, they naturally felt good in the afternoon. In the factory, they praised our fish head with pancake a lot. Many people in the factory heard it."

Perhaps because of their active promotion, the fish head with pancake at the Fang family restaurant suddenly became very popular, with dozens of plates sold every day. If there were any exchange groups or inspection teams, the number would double! After some time, the Fang family restaurant even had customers who came specifically from Pingchuan County to eat the fish head with pancake. Among them were naturally the heads of those departments.

"Minyuan, Minyuan!" Fang Bin's excited voice came from the yard. Fang Minyuan sighed lightly and put down his pen.

Less than ten seconds later, Fang Bin had already rushed into the room. "Minyuan, good news!"

"Uncle, did Aunt Rong agree to your proposal? Or did Grandpa give you money again?" Fang Minyuan put away the notebook and placed it on the bookshelf next to him. Aunt Rong was Fang Bin's former colleague in Pingchuan County. Because of her, Fang Bin had hit someone and was eventually fired, returning to Hai Zhuang Town. However, their connection was not severed, and later, this young woman named Lu Rong even came to visit Fang Bin in Hai Zhuang Town. Fang Minyuan had met her before; she was indeed quite beautiful and had a good temper, appearing to be a gentle woman.

Fang Bin and Lu Rong's relationship grew closer over time, and they were now discussing marriage. If it weren't for the Fang family's busy schedule over the past few years and the fact that they had not yet reached the legal age, they might have already registered their marriage.

"Go away, Aunt Rong agreed to my proposal long ago. We're just waiting for the age requirement." Fang Bin's face turned red. "Minyuan, just now, a few more guests from Pingchuan came to our restaurant, including someone from the Industry and Commerce Bureau. I chatted with them a bit, and they welcomed us to open a branch in Pingchuan County. They even promised to provide us with convenience in various aspects. Minyuan, when are we going to start expanding to Pingchuan?"

Fang Minyuan sighed. Although his uncle was four years older, his temper was still the same, and he was not calm when faced with matters. "Uncle, Grandpa Zhao's money has only been here for less than two weeks, and we are still smoothing things out in Pingchuan. Rushing into it won't work. If the preliminary work is not done properly, problems will arise in Pingchuan County in the future, which will be troublesome. At that time, losing money will be a small matter, but if other things happen, our family can't afford it."

"What else could happen?" Fang Bin was somewhat dismissive.

"Uncle, in Pingchuan, we will be outsiders. As the saying goes, a strong dragon does not suppress a local snake. If we take away the business of local restaurants, will they easily give in? Moreover, I heard from Uncle Zhu that the security in Pingchuan has been quite bad in recent years, even worse than in Hai Zhuang Town. Therefore, we must be cautious when investing. This money is not easy to come by, and we must ensure that it can be recovered." Fang Minyuan explained patiently. The Uncle Zhu he mentioned was his neighbor, Zhu Dajun, who was now the deputy chief of the Hai Zhuang Town police station.

Hearing this, Fang Bin realized that he had underestimated the matter. In Hai Zhuang Town, the Fang family had lived for many years, and they knew many people, both in the factory and on the ground. Fang Bin himself was quite well-known among the young people in Hai Zhuang Town, and they also had acquaintances in the police station. Therefore, since opening the restaurant, everything had gone smoothly without any major issues. However, in Pingchuan County, all these advantages would be gone. Fang Bin knew that the hooligans in town often harassed the restaurants, and the money spent on dealing with them each month was not a small amount.

"Then when do you plan to start? We need a rough date to make preparations." Fang Bin's excitement had faded.

"The time won't be too long. In about a month, things should be clearer." Fang Minyuan thought for a moment. In fact, he hadn't told Fang Bin that Grandpa Zhao was currently smoothing things out in Pingchuan. More importantly, Zhu Dajun was expected to be promoted to deputy chief of the county police station soon, and Zhou Yuanchao, who had returned to Pingchuan from Hai Zhuang Town, had also received news that he might be promoted to deputy section chief soon. Once Zhu Dajun and Zhou Yuanchao were settled, the Fang family restaurant would have a much better chance of success in Pingchuan County.

Day by day, the Fang family restaurant's business became increasingly prosperous, and the fish head with pancake had become the signature dish. Chef Cheng no longer prepared other dishes and now sold nearly a hundred plates of fish head with pancake every day. Other restaurants in Hai Zhuang Town secretly came to learn the technique, but Fang Bin had already been warned by Fang Minyuan to strictly guard the cooking method of the fish head with pancake. Unable to succeed, they turned their attention to Chef Cheng, trying to buy the technique at a high price. However, Chef Cheng was very comfortable at the Fang family restaurant, and the Fang family had just given him a 20% raise. Moreover, Chef Cheng's family had a tradition of loyalty to their employers, which his father, an old-fashioned person, had instilled in him. Therefore, these people were firmly rejected by Chef Cheng.

Later, when Fang Minyuan learned of this, he decided to give Chef Cheng a share of the profits—10% of the pure profit from each plate of fish head with pancake sold. This alone increased Chef Cheng's monthly income by several hundred yuan, firmly securing his loyalty.

On a Sunday in early April, early in the morning, accompanied by Fang Bin, Fang Minyuan boarded a long-distance bus to Fengyuan, where Japanese guests were waiting for his arrival.

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